bay area bridges. good morning, it's thursday, december 20. i'm michelle griego. >> i'm brian hackney. frank has the morning off. time now straight up 5:00. all clear for one peninsula neighborhood. >> that's after authorities discovered volatile chemicals inside a home. cbs 5 reporter anne makovec is san mateo with more. >> reporter: the fire department didn't know what they were dealing with so they did everything by the book. here's where they bagged up sand to try to keep these chemicals safe before they blew it up. this is the house where the chemicals were found in san mateo on parrott drive. the windows boarded up. it was an exercise for all of the emergency responders involved and for the entire neighborhood. the fire department got a call around 4:30 yesterday afternoon saying the person who lives this is house found a cache of chemicals in the basement that

had apparently been here for more than 30 years. >> it was acid and ether. we were told they were -- something that needed to be taken care of on site. they couldn't transport it. it's very dangerous. the chance of explosion was real great. >> reporter: so neighbors sheltered in place, there was going to be a big explosion and not to worry and all clear was given at about 9 p.m. the lesson to be learned here is if you see anything suspicious in your household and property don't touch it. something leaking something that smells we wanted. keep fire and electricity away from it. call the fire department. live in san mateo, cbs 5. >> the search is on for the shooter who opened fire on a marine recruiter's car as he drove south on a busy south bay

freeway. the recruiter was headed southbound on highway 85 yesterday when he was shot at several times. the government issued pontiac was riddled with bullets on the driver's side. officers think the shooting was random. >> we believe it doesn't appear to be targeted because the marine corps officer had a cover jacket on so he was in uniform but had a cover jacket on. his uniform wasn't visible at least easily accessible or visible from somebody on the outside. >> investigators shut down the freeway for two hours yesterday. at one point they walked in tight formation across the lanes looking for evidence. cs i will techs will now try to calculate the trajectory of the bullets. a new effort for gun control as newtown continues to mourn the loss of 20 children and six adults. vice president joe biden will meet with law enforcement officers from across the country today.

the goal is to come up with recommendations to curb gun violence. funeral services for five more victims are being held today. cbs reporter marlie hall with the new call for action. >> my name is richard bloomenthal. >> reporter: connecticut senator bloomenthal and chris murphy met with a group called newtown united who came together after the shooting to push for a ban on assault weapons. they may have a new supporter in president obama. he wants new laws to try to prevent another tragedy like the one at sandy hook elementary school. >> the fact that we can't prevent every act of violence doesn't mean we can't steadily reduce the violence. >> as head of the president's task force, vice president biden will look into banning assault weapons. but gun advocates say that's not necessary. >> there are lots of things we can do to make sure that only the right people have firearms. >> reporter: there will be at least nine more funerals or viewings today. on wednesday, each of the

victims was remembered in his own special way. ♪ [ music ] >> reporter: paul simon sang at the funeral for 27-year-old teacher victoria soto. she died trying to protect her first grade students. >> she gave her life for those kids. it breaks my heart. >> reporter: 7-year-old daniel barden wanted to be a firefighter when he grew up. caroline previdi liked to draw and dance. charlotte bacon loved animals and principal dawn hochsprung was a mother of two but friends and family say all of her students were her kids. marlie hall for cbs news, newtown, connecticut. a candlelight vigil and toy drive will be hosted by cbs 5 and kcbs radio tonight starting at 5 p.m. at the holiday ice rink at embarcadero center in san francisco. we're taking donations of unwrapped teddy bears or toys to honor the memory of the

newtown students and teachers. all toys will go to children in need right here in the bay area. more details on our website at cbssf.com/newtown. well, the fallout over the school shootings is now being felt on mainstream radio. some radio stations have dropped foster the people's pumped up kicks from their playlist. the lyrics tell the story of a boy planning a violent campus shooting. the ban says the song is meant to help bring awareness to gun violence in schools. other stations are dropping kesha's die young. mornings at cbs 5 dot com. much of the midwest is undea blizzard warning this morni the storm stretches from the mississippi.. ke$ha's die young. you can comment on facebook or twitter, or email us at mornings@cbs5.com. much of the midwest is under a blizzard warning. the storm goes from mississippi

to colorado. that's where i-70 was closed for 156 miles due to high winds and reduced visibility. forecasters say wisconsin could bear the brunt of the storm this week. that state's governor has already declared a state of emergency. >> we did this well in february of 2011. learned from mistakes made in the past where they didn't have enough people positioned. so from storm crews out there county truck roads dot staff out, dnr on snowmobiles and others, we're going to be fully prepared. >> let's take some live pictures now of kansas city, missouri. you can see that the morning commuters are out on the highways already but probably taking it slow. the national weather service warns travelers in the central plains to expect hazardous conditions through today and into early tomorrow. >> that's why people from other parts of country move to california. [ laughter ] >> like i say, from denver. i name no names. >> who's that? >> look at the -- when we get 45-degree readings and go this

is terrible, we say, what are you people wimps? >> i was laughing yesterday. >> but you still freeze out here. >> i get cold. >> it gets really cold in colorado but boy, you know what, we have some stormy weather coming in our direction as it looks like those clouds are gathering once again. right now it's a cold start to the morning. not as cold as yesterday. but look at just to the north. we have a cold front that's dropping in, in our direction. it will bring some changing weather throughout the day. likely to see some clouds streaming across our skies. and then as we get into the evening hours likely to see some rain developing in parts of the north bay. so things going to get very unsettled. if you have some shopping to do this is the day to do it. mostly clear out there now and cold. the temperatures chilly in spots. 29 degrees in concord. it is 29 now in livermore. 39 degrees in san jose. and 37 degrees in santa rosa. so looks like as we head throughout the day today those clouds will start to roll in. the temperatures going to stay fairly cool. plan on highs only in the 50s. should stay fairly dry but the winds are going to start to pick up and maybe we start to talk about some rain in the evening hours in the north bay. then a pretty stormy night

coming our way and more over the weekend. we'll have more on your weather coming up. right now, let's check on the roads with elizabeth. >> volume is starting to increase a bit if you are coming through the dublin interchange. all those headlights, that's the commute direction. that's westbound 580 and you can see a little bit of bunching up as you get closer to tassajara. 14 minutes between the altamont pass and dublin interchange. so you can see maybe a few changing colors on our sensor now as you get closer towards livermore. roadwork this morning eastbound lanes of highway 4 through antioch just one lane blocked. so the westbound commute direction still looks good actually all the way towards the pittsburg-bay point area. northbound 880 approaching stevenson boulevard that accident is now cleared. looking good towards highway 84. going in the other direction southbound 880, this is a live look in milpitas near the 237 interchange. both directions moving at the limit. that is traffic. back to you guys. >> thank you. police say a stray bullet hit and killed a woman in east oakland last night. witnesses say they heard five shots in the 9100 block of

international boulevard shortly before 7:00. investigators say the victim was not the intended target of the shooter. no arrests have been made. and in other bay area headlines this morning, the california public utilities commission is expected to vote on a $2.2 billion safety improvement plan for pg&e's pipelines today. the company wants customers to pay for 90% of of the cost. a judge recommended customers only pay 55% now. it's up to the cpu on how the tab will be split. and big layoffs looming for city college of san francisco unless administrators can shore up finances. trustees are looking to slash 34 full time and 22 to 30 part time positions starting next month. community college needs 3,000 more students to register for the spring semester just to meet its budget. people are already lining up in san jose for a massive toy and book giveaway. cbs 5 reporter cate caugiran

joins us live from the sacred heart community service. thousands of kids are expected to get a gift this morning? >> reporter: that's right. 5600 kids to be exact thanks to the sacred heart community service. i'm joined by [ indiscernible ] , did i get that right? >> right. >> here from the development organization. what's going on today? >> this is a completion of our overall holiday program. we gave out over 3200 food boxes that closed yesterday and this morning, we are starting to give out toys at 10 a.m. to 5,690 children. that's about 2200 families. you can see some of them already waiting for their appointments since last night. we saw them coming at 5 p.m. and we're giving three items to children, toys and books, so that we have collected over

17,000 toys and books thanks to the community. volunteers will be coming to help parents shop for gifts. >> it's such a wonderful thing that you are providing for the community here in the bay area. and i know that the organization is still looking for more donations specifically for older teens and books of all ages. you can drop those off here at the location or donate to their website. reporting live in san jose, cate caugiran, cbs 5. 5:12. poor crash test rating for top selling cars. >> how this will impact business for one of the world's largest automakers. plus... >> not only are we coming here to help, but we're benefitting from it ourselves. >> plus, it's not your typical exchange program. what these bay area students are liting from each other. >> and dashcam does again. how close this deputy came to getting hit by a speeding car. ,,

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highway is dangerous work f officers. check out this well, you don't believe pulling a car over on the highway is dangerous work for officers, just watch this. dashcam video from a cruiser in ohio. a car sideswipes the cruiser and comes close to the car that was pulled off. the cruiser' side mirror was taken off. the deputy was not hurt.

>> that is good. but that did come really close. a little too close, right? >> that is dangerous stuff. 5:15. let's check the roads. >> probably a good time do it, elizabeth. >> good transition. no drama out there. quiet on bay area roads. the only thing we have going on is roadwork. we checked in with caltrans and it's at devil's slide one-way traffic control on highway 1 just a heads up should be wrapping up in the next few hours. they are scheduled until about 8:00 this morning. your bridges here's a live look across the golden gate bridge. a few headlights now heading towards doyle drive. a lot of the lane changes though they have been completed. so now you're good to go in the commute direction. to the south bay now, and 101, 280, guadalupe parkway, all moving at top speeds. no hot spots out there now. we had one earlier one on 880 in fremont. that's now cleared. so it looks good on southbound 880 all the way down towards

the 237 interchange. that's actually a live look through milpitas. northbound 880 in oakland by the oakland coliseum, the drive time is in the green, 16 minutes on the northbound lanes between 238 and the maze so we are bracing for a wet morning commute tomorrow. with more on the forecast, here's lawrence. >> no drama today, elizabeth? >> no. so far, so good. >> biggest drama i had, no cream for the coffee this morning! ! that was drama! a little chilly this morning. clouds will move in and we'll watch those temperatures to bump. we're already seeing that. outside now mostly clear skies. chilly with temperatures in the 20s, increasing clouds throughout the day and showers developing to our north and spreading to the south very slowing. periods of rain on and off. outside now we have 29 degrees

in concord and 29 also in livermore and chilly 39 degrees in san jose 40 in san francisco. a cold front in the gulf of alaska. nice break from the stormy weather is about to change. le the jet stream is going to start to dip the next few days and that's going to usher in some big differences in the weather as we'll see strong gusty winds with the cold front moving in. wind advisory going into effect later on tonight. gusts as high as 50 miles per hour. mainly out toward the coastline and over the mountaintops. but looks like this storm system is going to blow as it moves through. don't expect delays. mostly clear skies, partly cloudy in the afternoon. 57 degrees in houston. 40 in denver. you have snow and then some rain into chicago. rain in new york and 47 degrees. here's the latest on our futurecast as you will see the system sliding through the bay area moving very, very slowly. then the rainfall especially overnight tonight and into tomorrow morning.

then the next couple of days. right through the weekend. finally dry on discrimination. the insurance institute for highway safety gave the 2012 prius and camry poor ratings. but toyota is on track to overtake gm as the world's largest automaker. the camry is this year's number one selling family sedan. part of an exchange program empowers the middle school children and the group they are helping making it a truex change. that's what makes saint mark's this week's "cool school." >> i tried this one. this one is good. >> reporter: natalie and kayla don't intend the same school but they are still good friends. >> we like the same bands and the same books and we are

similar. >> reporter: they met in an exchange program, a resource center serving marin's immigrant population. they help them with homework. >> the father would never hesitate to help another person. >> reporter: and on thursdays the help is reciprocate. canal kids visit st. mark's to help with spanish homework. >> they could be teaching the infinitive and these kids are having conversations with you and you're learning their stories in spanish. >> the skills are as important as in the classroom from their formal curriculum. >> reporter: including cooperating with others learning to be compassionate and negotiating differences. >> not only are we coming here to help but we're benefitting from it ourselves. >> reporter: they help and empower each other through homework, conversation and friendship. >> i like how st. mark's is.

they always care about a two- way street how one group of people helps us and we also help them. >> tell us what's cool about your school. go to cbssf.com/coolschool and we may feature school on our show. >> it's refreshing to see bright smart kids. it is 5:21. gets which nfl quarterback is the player of the week. >> and there were 258 points scored in sacramento last night. did the warriors out last the kings? >> it is quiet and cold now but storms are brewing if you are heading to the high country. here's your snow report. we have winter storm warnings going into effect as early as tomorrow morning. snow likely in heavenly. very heavy snowfall in that area. grab the chains if you are heading up to northstar. snow likely this weekend, as well. some places across the higher peaks maybe as much as five,

six feet of snow, lots of snow? squall valley, as well. be careful traveling in that direction. more on your weather when we come back. ,, ,,,,,,,,

if you are heading off on your morning drive, so far, so good across the bay bridge. traffic at the limit in milpitas. no big hot spots out there so far. we'll check in with chp throughout the morning. more "timesaver traffic" coming up. the sacramento kings outlasted the warriors in a high scoring shootout. oakland perfect fell short on defense. some high points, the warriors overcame 15 points -- a 15- point deficit to take the lead but the kings scored more points than any team had all year against the warriors. sacramento ends up winning 131 to 127. all right. no surprise the 9ers fans with this story. quarterback colin kaepernick is the nfc's offensive player of the week. hopefully you're not superstitious though because 9ers quarterback alex smith won it last year and then was out with injuries. the play of the day for the

sixers and the rockets. in the 3rd quarter check out james hardin without looking... without looking -- he passes between the legs for the assist. rockets win 125-103. 5:26 on your thursday morning. thanks for coming by cbs 5 this morning, by the way. making money off your mistake. the bay area city padding its coffers with overpaid parking tickets. >> playing santa for thousands of bay area kids. right now, families lined up in the cold to bring home toys. how you can help make their christmas. >> you never know what is lurking next door. that is the takeaway for a lot of people on the peninsula this morning. we'll show you what happened when some volatile chemicals were found next. [ female announcer ] dove invited women to test their

body washes with paper that reacts like skin. if others can strip this paper, imagine how harsh they can be to your skin. oh my gosh. [ female announcer ] dove is different. its new breakthrough formula changes everything. new dove. this is care.

>> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald an old stash of chemicals blown up in a loud explosion on the peninsula. the evacuations and just what was so dangerous. >> quiet and cold so far but a storm bearing down on the bay area. the weather is all about to change. we'll have details coming up. >> and no delay, no metering lights at all over at the bay bridge toll plaza. coming up a check of your other bay area roads. >> good morning, everyone. it's thursday, december 20. i'm michelle griego. >> i'm brian hackney. frank is off this morning. the time now is 5:30. a loud boom on the peninsula after a bomb squad blew up dangerous chemicals. this morning, evacuated neighbors are back in their homes. cbs 5 reporter anne makovec is outside the san mateo house where the controlled explosion left behind a big hole, anne. >> reporter: brian, i know you're really into science so

you would have probably loved to have been here last night. this board is covering a hole where these kept calls were blown up. there were some sandbags here, hoping to contain that area. right behind it you see the house where these chemicals were found. the windows all boarded up. really this was an exercise if anything in emergency response and emergency workers and anybody living nearby. the fire department got a call about 4:30 yesterday afternoon saying the more than lives in this house in san mateo on parrot drive found a cache of chemicals in the basement that had been there for more than 30 years including acid and ether. emergency workers notified about 500 households in the area to shelter in place as they surrounded the chemicals and blew them up. >> it was significant. at least to her property. we had boarded up the windows trying to prevent damage but it damaged all the windows in the front of her home. >> reporter: the "all clear"

was given just before 9:00 last night. but a reminder if you see anything weird or smell anything, some unidentified substance, something that looks like it spilled or leaked, officials say treat it as if it is hazardous. the chemicals were volatile so they protected the neighborhood in the end. anne makovec, cbs 5. the santa clara sheriff's department is searching for the gunman who opened fire on a marine recruiter's car on a busy freeway. the recruiter was headed southbound on highway 85 yesterday when he was shot at several times. the government-issued pontiac was riddled with bullets on the driver's side. some of the slugs traveled through the car breaking a window. officers think the shooter was random. >> we believe it doesn't appear to be targeted because the marine corps officer had a cover jacket on. so he was in uniform but he had

a cover jacket on. his uniform wasn't visible at least, you know, easily accessible or visible from somebody on the outside. >> the highway was shut down for two hours. they will try to calculate the trajectory of the bullets recovered. the white house is stepping up its push for new gun control laws in the wake of the shooting in newtown, connecticut. the vice president starts his task force today to curb gun violence and president obama is promising real action. >> i will use all the powers of this office to help advance efforts aimed at preventing more tragedies like this. we won't prevent them all but than can't be an excuse not to try. it will take commitment, compromise and courage. >> the president wants congress to vote early next year to renew the ban on military-style assault weapons and outlaw sales of high capacity ammunition clips. he also wants to close the gun show loophole so all buyers are

subject to federal background checks. ♪ [ music ] in newtown, paul simon sang at the funeral for 27-year-old teacher victoria soto. she died trying to protect her first grade students. firefighters from across the northeast came to honor 7-year- old daniel barden, who said he wanted to be a firefighter someday. >> firefighters here in tribute to this young child and all the souls that were lost in this community. >> today the funerals continue for five other families. there are also four viewings set for victims. 20 children and six adults were killed in the shooting. tonight, cbs 5 and kcbs radio will host a candlelight vigil for newtown. it starts at 5 p.m. at the holiday ice ring at embarcadero center in san francisco. we're collecting donations of unwrapped teddy bears or toys

to honor the memory of the newtown students and teachers. all toys will go to children in need right here in the bay area. for more details, go to our cbssf.com/newtown. back in the bay area, mayor ed lee is work on ways to reduce gun violence in san francisco. the mayor said he is working with members of the city's interfaith community and other local leaders to discuss ways to reduce the recent uptick in violence. police said there have been 67 homicides so far in 2012 compared to only 50 at the same time last year. one of those shootings killed a concord high school football player. 17-year-old montreal blakely was shot and killed saturday night. the archdiocese of san francisco is organizing a vigil in his honor today and is organizing prayer services for other homicide victims. 5:35. it's another chilly morning. >> it's going to turn from chilly to wet and there's the guy who knows all about it, the emmy award winning lawrence

karnow. >> thank you very much for that introduction. [ laughter ] heading out this morning, it's a cold start to the day but what a change we have coming. look at this storm. no messing around. this is serious storm heading in our direction again as we're going to see some very heavy rainfall and fierce winds developing. now, i think the better part of the day today going to be okay. it's a quiet start to the morning. a mostly clear start just beginning to see a few clouds filter into parts of north bay and that's why santa rosa is sitting at 37 degrees. otherwise it is clear and 29 in concord, 29 in livermore and 39 degrees in san jose. highs only in the 50s. clouds will roll in. we'll see winds picking up i think most of the rain holding off until the latter part of the day and overnight a strong storm slides into the bay area, heavy rainfall tomorrow morning. so, elizabeth, we're both going to be very busy. >> sounds like it. mass transit always a good option especially on friday,

want to kickback a little bit avoid the roads. for morning, though, as lawrence also mentioned, it's dry and been really quiet actually with all our chp reports and accidents, just really haven't seen too much on the roads so far this morning at least since we have been on the air at 4:30. this is a live look at the san mateo bridge. the right side of your screen is the commute direction. and it's 14 right now out of hayward towards the other side. other bridges similar story a live look at the getting golden gate headlights moving southbound towards doyle drive coming know san francisco. from the north bay to the south bay, here's a live look through downtown san jose up the guadalupe parkway heading towards san jose airport. no delay. and 101 is actually pretty good as well. traffic still moving at the limit all the way through the silicon valley commute, westbound 237 leaving milpitas. and farther up the nimitz, this is 880 near the oakland coliseum. we have not seen any big brake lights at all, all the way towards the macarthur maze and massransit no problems, everything is on time for bart,

ace, muni, caltrain d ferries. that's traffic d weather every 10 minutes. back to you guys. >> thank you. a woman was short and killed in east oakland by a stray bullet. witnesses say they heard about five shots on the 9100 block of international boulevard shortly before 7 p.m. last night. investigators say the victim was not the intended target of the shooter. no arrests have been made. after months of name calling and finger-pointing the battle over thomas kinkade's $66 million estate has been secretly settled. lawyers for kinkade's widow and girlfriend announced the settlement but they didn't reveal who would be inheriting his mansion or his warehouse of paintings. the dispute went public following the 54-year-old artist's death back in april. kinkade's live-in girlfriend claims that kinkade left her his house and that the proof of that is in two handwritten wills. his wife portrayed the girlfriend as a gold digger who was trying to steal her inheritance. state officials have rejected a $30 million deal

between the 49ers and south bay schools. remember the two years ago santa clara voters decided to earmark redevelopment tax funds for the new stadium but the funds were eliminated by the state. and the money was given to schools. the 9ers and the schools eventually decided to split the funds but now, it's a judge who will rule on who gets the money. oakland's auditor says the city is cashing in on overpaid parking tickets. according to his new report on parking ticket management, the city made $316,000 just in overpayments last year. state law requires cities to reimburse people who pay their parking tickets twice by mistake. people have been waiting in the cold in san jose for a massive toy and book giveaway. cbs 5 reporter cate caugiran joins us live from the sacred heart community service and cate, this is great because thousands of kids are expecting to get a gift this morning. >> reporter: that's right, michelle. about 5600 kids will be getting toys thanks to their parents

and sacred heart community. and i want to show you these parents in this line right here have been in line actually since 5:00 last night. they are bundled up braving the cold and they say it's a small price to pay for their children. sacred heart community service has collected a total of 17,000 toys. they will be given out to more than 5600 kids in the bay area. the organization has been doing this for 10 years. it's part of the christmas toy box distribution to help low income parents bring christmas cheer to their children. >> i have been kind of unfortunate this year and i just want my kids to open up amazing gifts like i said that this organization offers. it's a blessing. >> we gave out over 3200 food boxes that closed yesterday, and this morning, we're starting to give out toys at 10 a.m.

to 5,690 children. >> reporter: now, starting at 10:00 this morning, parents will be able to pick out age appropriate toys for their kids. there will be hundreds of volunteers on site helping throughout the day and the toys will be given out throughout the next few days. but there's still time to help if you would like to donate. the organization tells me they still need toys for teens and they also need books for all ages and you can donate here in san jose or you can go to sacred heart's website. live in san jose, cate caugiran, cbs 5. >> thank you. it's 5:41 right now. dashing through the snow, wind and rain. >> they will need more than a one horse open sleigh for this blizzard. conditions snarl traffic from colorado to wisconsin. the ripple effect it's having across the country. >> and a prison escape from a 20-story high-rise. the manhunt for the two daring bank robbers who pulled it off. ,,,,,,

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times square the seven foot tall number "13" arrived the ye it's just around the corner. preparations are already under way in new york's times square. the 7-foot-tall number 13 arrived there yesterday to kick off the 13-day countdown to 2013. and as a precaution, the times square alliance decorated the display with 13 multicultural good luck charms. this was meant to ease superstitions and to ward off bad luck associated with the number 13. >> yes. there's other numbers coming in today. unemployment claims are up.

>> the number of americans filing first time unemployment claims rose for the first time in five weeks. applications were up by 17,000 to 361,000 in the weekending on december 15. the good news, the economy grew at a little over 3% rate in the july-september quarter. the end of the year is the perfect time to clean up your investment accounts and to help with your favorite charities. here's jill schlesinger, editor at large for cbsmoneywatch.com. good morning, jill. >> reporter: good morning. >> all right. so you say losers are winners at this time of the year. can you explain that? >> reporter: yes. it's the only time you want to be called a loser. if you have investment losses in a taxable account, you can sell them to offset gains that you may have taken earlier in the year. now, here's something really terrific. if you have more losses than gains, you can actually deduct up to $3,000 against your ordinary income. if you really have a bad trade stuck in the account and it's more than 3 towards you, you can carry that over to future

years if it's more than $3,000. if you are going to sell something and replace it within 30 days the new asset can't be substantially identical, the wash sale rule. avoid it pick something else, like an index fund and clean everything up all at once. >> what if you want to make a little cash and sell some winners. would that be a good idea this year? >> reporter: what's interesting is previous years i would say keep your winners but this year is really different because remember, forgetting about the "fiscal cliff" for a second, if you are a high wage earner you will pay more in capital gains taxes next year due to a new levy by the affordable care act an extra 3.8% on capital gains so that means if you are planning to sell something like a company stock or you have a large concentration in one holding, this could be a good year to lock in those gains. >> how can investors help charities? >> reporter: you know, i love to get into the holiday spirit especially when my uncle sam helps me out. one way to lower your tax bill

in april is to donate appreciated securities like stocks or bonds even a mutual fund to a charity. you write off the current market value not what you paid for it whatever it's worth today. you don't pay taxes on it and the charity doesn't pay taxes because it's a chart. next year we are looking at changes to itemized deductions and charitable donations. so that means that this year could be a very good year to maximize your charitable beginning. on cbsmoneywatch.com we refined you there are four valuable tax credits expiring this year so check it out. >> thank you, jill schlesinger, editor at large for cbsmoneywatch.com. appreciate it. the national weather service has issued a blizzard warning for much of the midwest. in colorado, interstate 70 was closed for 156 miles due to high winds and reduced visibility. the storm continues to pound chicago. passengers flying to o'hare from sfo can expect delays of

about 2 hours. the national weather service warns travelers in the central plains to expect hazardous conditions through today into early tomorrow. here we are now 21 hours or so before winter solstice descends on the western hemisphere! >> i thought were you going to say before the end of the world. >> well, that, too. yes. [ laughter ] >> but hopefully we'll still be here. and if we are, we should enjoy a fierce storm rolling into the bay area. kind of quiet early on today, beginning to just see some high clouds creeping into the bay area. there's going to be a slow mover so not expecting much in the way of rainfall in the better part of the daytime hours. that may change this evening. a few clouds creeping into the north bay. increasing clouds throughout the day today and showers beginning to show up north of the golden gate bridge. then periods of rain on and off throughout the weekend. probably a good one to three inches in the first part of the storm system through saturday. then maybe another one to two inches throughout the weekend.

so it's a quiet start. cold, upper 20s toward concord, 29 livermore, 40 san francisco. you will notice santa rosa not quite as cold. they have begun to see a few high clouds creep in overhead. so with that in mind, we have changes coming. today a quiet start to the day. we'll probably notice the winds ramping up in the latter part of the afternoon and the storm system moves in. and then tonight wind advisory going up. we could see gusts as high as 50 miles per hour at the coast and the mountains. around the state, 50s in the central valley, dry in the high country as well but that's all about to change. slow-moving system working its way into the bay area going to bring some rainfall probably into the evening hours tonight in the north bay and then spreading south overnight tonight. but a slow-moving storm system so seeing a good soaker coming through. looks like the next couple of days it's going to be on and off wet through the weekend. i think maybe the next best break, on christmas day, elizabeth. >> the one day maybe we want a little bit of a break.

>> play with our new toys! >> it's dry on the main lines. freeway. we have a developing news story. first, i want to show you the south bay. this is a live look 101 near the trimble exit and everything is good northbound and southbound 101. elsewhere busy on westbound 580 west and eastbound 580 as you approach the dublin interchange. drive time up to 16 minutes now in those westbound lanes between the altamont pass and pleasanton. and this is our developing news story. what sounds like a fire in san francisco 119 broad street. we are sending a news crew to the scene fire trucks there now so maybe street are blocked in the area. we did a little google map and it looks like from the area mostly houses, apartment buildings in the neighborhood so we'll continue to keep you posted let you know if there's any further damage or more streets blocked off in that neighborhood. elsewhere another live look outside. this is in milpitas. this is near the 880/237 interchange. and all lanes all directions so

far moving at the limit. similar story in oakland, as well. northbound and southbound as you pass the oakland coliseum. so far still in the green no brake lights. that is traffic. back to you guys. >> okay. thank you. 5:50. three u.s. senators are slamming the new movie about the osama bin laden raid. democratic senators dianne feinstein and carl levin and republican senator john mccain say zero dark 30 is grossly inaccurate and misleading. they are upset with the way the film depicts cia interrogations and they want the film studios to state that the movie is it not based on fact. the manhunt is widening for a pair of convicted bank robbers who made a daring escape from prison. authorities say the two men tied their bedsheets into a makeshift rope to escape from a chicago correctional facility tuesday night. they climbed out of a 20-story window and scaled down the side of the building. then they changed clothes and took a cab. the fbi is offering a $50,000

reward for their capture. kind of sounds like a movie. >> on a bed sheet, two. 5:24. just hours now to doomsday. of course not. nasa sets record straight about the end of the world. >> and no, it's not the latest in-flight meal. how 2,000 pounds of potatoes could improve your airplane wi- fi connection. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

on saturday. the space agency has been by sday rumors for if you are busy planning the end of the world, nasa says cheer up, the sun will rise on saturday. the space agency has been busy debunking doomsday rumors for weeks. it's been getting hundreds of

of calls a day. some think the world will end on friday because the mayan calendar stops there. others believe a planet o meteor will destroy us. but scientists say to bust that myth it's easy to look through a telescope. >> one doomsday prediction says a rogue planet will crash into earth. this is silly. if there were such an object, anybody could see it. it would be one of the brightest things in the sky. >> absolutely. that's the great david morrison. as for rumors of solar flares wiping us out, nasa says this solar cycle is the wimpiest in half a century. >> there you go. >> nothing to worry about. wi-fi with a side of potatoes? airplane manufacturer boeing used 20,000 pounds of potatoes as stand-in for passengers during tests of its wi-fi

signals. strange seeing that isn't it? the sacks of potatoes are supposed to replicate the way human passengers reflect and absorb electronics signals. the testing idea has been dubbed spuds, which stands for synthetic personnel using die die electric particular substitution. >> the world has a new beauty queen. 20-year-old olivia culpo won miss universe last night in las vegas. she is from rhode island. she beat 89 other women for the crown. she is a sophomore at boston university. so good for her. >> she won miss universe. >> yeah. >> good golly. >> getting bigger all the time. 5:56. 4 minutes before 6:00. in the next half hour the popular songs being pulled off the airwaves after the sandy hook shooting. >> and the bomb squad sets off

an explosion heard all over san mateo. the highly dangerous materials found inside a home. and we're live in san jose where parents have been braving the overnight cold temperatures for a massive bay area toy drive. we'll tell you how you can help bring smiles to children this christmas. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

peninsula. >> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald. a gaping hole and home boarded up. why the bomb squad had to blow up dangerous chemicals on the peninsula. a south bay organization is about to kick off a massive toy drive but the group says they still need your help. >> it is quiet and cold around the bay area now. but a good storm coming our way. it is going to gustst and heavy rain, too, we'll talk about that coming up. >> it is a great looking commute so far on 101 through san jose. we are just getting word of